Fantasy / SciFi Movie Newsticker (Sammelthread)

k everybody just calm the freak down! I have read three articles so far with a “holy shit” involved. Some people are probably giddy with geeky excitement then there are those that are cursing with fanboy rage. Where do i stand on the matter? I think The Predator could use a good movie. Those Alien Vs. Predator crap movies did more harm than good for these badass hunter aliens, even the direct sequel to ‘Predator’ sucked. I for one would like to see another good ‘Predator’ flick.

This is all just a big rumor for now, but it started over at bloody-disgusting when a “reliable source” dropped them a line that revealed Robert Rodriguez and his Troublemaker Studios will be producing the next “Predator” movie for 20th Century Fox. Now the pitch being sent around Hollywood is that there will be more than one Predator:

“In the reboot a team of commandoes face down a mysterious race of vicious monsters.”

Like I said this is a rumor and a long shot. Rodriguez has a good amount of projects he is already working on such as Sin City 2 and 3, a film called Shorts, Red Sonja, and Nerveraker which I can’t find any information on but apparently he is directing it. So take this all with a grain of salt.

According to my sources, one of my favorite projects got itself a director. Supposedly, Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson went in to the Silver offices, came in and did this killer take on He-man and the Masters of the Universe and got himself the job!

Apparently, the He-Man movie is not dead after all. I hear Stevenson's presenation razzle dazzled the execs.

I honestly don't know how I feel about the guy because I never saw Kung Fu Panda. On one hand, I'm excited that the project is still active, on the other I'm not really sure if Stevenson is the right choice.

Last month, Disney pulled up stakes on its Chronicles of Narnia co-production and distribution agreement with Walden Media. Tonight, Fox has stepped in to help steer Voyage of the Dawn Treader, as the third film in the series gets underway.

The film might go in front of cameras at the end of this summer for a holiday 2010 release, according to Variety. We also learned that the budget will be much more manageable the third time around, at around 60% of the $215 million budget for Prince Caspian.

Other than the studio and the budget, very little appears to have changed. The cast will return, the producers are still in place, and director Michael Apted is still linked to the project. If a screenplay and writer can come together quickly enough, then this project will indeed move forward later this year.

Dawn Treader is a more family-friendly offering than Caspian, and that may be just the remedy for the franchise at this point.

I do wonder what will happen with the DVDs. Obviously, with a franchise, it makes sense to package them together, and I can't see that happening with two different studios on the masthead. I sense a payoff coming in a few years for the House of Mouse

Story is set in the distant future, as a space war threatens Hyperion, a planet known for the Time Tombs - large artifacts that can move through time and are guarded by a gruesome monster called the Shrike.

Trevor Sands will adapt two Simmons’ novels into a script for one movie - “Hyperion Cantos.”

Sands co-wrote and directed the 2002 film “Inside.” Recently he’s worked on Dimension’s “Six Million Dollar Man” and adapted the David Brin sci-fi novel “Startide Rising” for Paramount.

Fans of director John Carpenter's horror movie The Thing are in for a treat - plans are afoot for a prequel. Studio bosses at Universal have revealed they are working on a new movie with screenwriter Ronald D. Moore, the man behind the relaunch of sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, to explain how the shape-shifting alien came to be discovered.

The project will be helmed by filmmaker Matthijs Van Heijningen, according to Variety.

Cult comedy Red Dwarf is returning to TV, 21 years after its initial launch.

The show has been resurrected by digital channel Dave for a two-part Easter weekend special, which sees the cast finally return to Earth.

Written and directed by Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor, the new show reunites the line-up, including Coronation Street's Craig Charles.

The hit show, which ran for eight series on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, won an International Emmy award.

'No holds barred'

Set three million years into the future, the show followed the exploits of Dave Lister, slovenly crew member of the mining ship Red Dwarf - and the last man in the universe.

He was joined in his weekly attempts to make it back to Earth by a cast of oddballs including human hologram Arnold Rimmer, mechanoid servant Kryten and Cat - a preening half-man, half-animal who evolved from the ship's cat.

At its peak, Red Dwarf pulled in around eight million viewers and was broadcast in more than 25 countries.

It has sold more than seven million DVDs and videos.

The new two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will be followed by a "no holds barred" episode without sets, special effects or autocue.

The weekend will climax with Red Dwarf: the Making of Back to Earth, a behind-the-scenes special from the new episodes.

Fresh off the success of ‘The Wrestler’ Director Darren Aronofsky is getting his ‘Robocop’ movie ready for production. Here is a director that has proved he has an stunning visual imagination, a good sense of story telling, and can get incredible performances out of his actors. This ‘Robocop’ reboot will most likely end up being pretty incredible. MTV caught up with Aronofsky on the red carpet of The Golden Globes and asked him about the film:

“The thing that’s exciting for a filmmaker like me about [“RoboCop”] is that it’s not as iconic as some of the other titles out there, so there’s room to do stuff with it, It had incredible insight into the future, and it’s still hilarious,”

I never thought about that before. Is ‘Robocop’ really an Iconic movie? I am sure there are people that will disagree with Aronofsky’s statement. It’s a great movie, and I loved it’s crazy over the top violence and acting, and it pushed the boundaries for films in the 80’s. I guess I would agree with him to an extent, it is iconic, but like he said, not as iconic as some other movies out there. He goes on to say:

“The world has so changed—how much every one of us is somewhat of a cyborg at this point with cell phones hanging out of us, with implants of all different types. I think there’s a lot of really timely ideas in it. If it comes together, it’ll be great, but who knows?”

If it comes together? There must be a possibility that it wont happen. I guess these days any movie could fall through at any time this early in production. If Aronofsky really wants it though, I think he has the power to make it happen. As for a possible cameo by original star Peter Weller.

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll show as much respect to the fans as I can.”

I am not sure if you have heard of IMAGI which is a CGI animation studio that has worked on films such as the latest ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ which actually wasn’t that bad. They were most recently working on a big screen version of a cartoon called ‘Astro Boy’. They released a little teaser trailer for that not to long ago and it looked like it could be pretty cool. IMAGI seems to have a lot of talent behind it, but what they don’t seem to have a lot of is money.

The Animation Guild (TAG), Local 839 IATSE business rep. Steve Hulett and President Kevin Koch run a blogthat talks about the animation industry and lets us in on the ups and downs of living and working as a professional animator, and this is what they have to say on the matter.

It appears that Imagi, maker of Astro Boy and Gatchaman, may currently be out of cash and temporarily shutting down operations. We’ve heard from one of Imagi’s Los Angeles animators that he was called at home on Saturday, Jan. 24, and told that the studio was out of cash, and that he should not report to work on Monday. Since this is all happening over the weekend, we’ve been unable to get any confirmation from official studio sources.

We’ve previously noted that the company informed the Guild in December that the company was having cashflow problems related to the credit crisis, and it’s noteworthy that just a few days ago the studio reported it had found a new depositary bank for their American depositary receipt program, so clearly they’re scrambling to get additional funds.

Forbes.com goes on to talk about what what kind of went down with the money situation and why IMAGI ran out of it.

Their boss, Douglas Glen, Imagi’s chief executive, had just come back from the American Film Market in Los Angeles, which was devastated by the gloom and doom spanning the globe. “If markets don’t return to some semblance of normalcy, it is going to be difficult to keep operations going,” an ashen-faced Glen told a visitor. Only two months before he had triumphantly secured $30 million in financing for his movie animation company. Then $20 million of it fell through.

That is just awful! The money was their and now it not. That is really quite sad. I hope this shut down is not permanent. Like I said IMAGI has a lot of talent, and they are also very young, but if they work this all out and it gets fixed, then play their cards right I think they could be the next big animation studio in town. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. So this sci-fi flick, as yet untitled, has been circling for a bit with Jake Gyllenhaal attached. Doug Liman is directing and co-wrote the original draft with I LOVE YOU, MAN's John Hamburg for Paramount. Now Ken Nolan, who scripted BLACK HAWK DOWN and the in-development-hell ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake, is taking a stab at the material. Hollywood Reporter has the story.

The only thing I know about the flick is that it's an action film about lunar colonization. I'm sure it'll be big budget spectacle entertainment, but hopefully Nolan can bring some of the character-driven tension over from his BLACK HAWK DOWN work.

The trailer, poster and pictures for the upcoming anthology film called “Tokyo!,” has been released.

The film is directed by Michel Gondry (Enternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Leos Carax (The Loves on the Bridge) and Bong Joon-ho (The Host), each direct a segment of this surreal triptych film.

“Interior Design” (Dir. Michel Gondry)

Hiroko and Akira (Ayako Fujitani and Ryo Kase), a young couple, arrive in Tokyo to pursue their careers, moving in temporarily with Hiroko’s old friend Akemi (Ayumi Ito), a career girl whose boyfriend quickly tires of the houseguests. Hiroko and Akira appear to have a solid and mutually supportive relationship that will seemingly carry them through any challenge. Akira, the young man, takes steps towards his ambition to become a filmmaker, but the woman is less sure of herself and gradually she begins to lose herself in the vast city. Ultimately she under-goes a surreal metamorphoses that gives her an unexpected sense of peace and purpose. Adapted from the comic “Cecil and Jordan in New York.”

“Merde” (Dir. Leos Carax)

Merde (a French term translating as “shit”) is the name given to an unkempt, gibberish-spewing subterranean creature of the Tokyo sewers, played by Denis Lavant, who rises from the underground lair where he dwells to attack unsuspecting locals in increasingly brazen and terrifying ways: he steals cash and cigarettes from passersby, frightens old women and salaciously licks schoolgirls, resulting in a televised media frenzy that creates mounting hysteria among the Tokyo populace. After discovering an arsenal of hand grenades in his underground lair, Merde slips into full-on assault mode, hurling the munitions at random citizens and creating a Godzilla-like atmosphere of urban terror, which the media promptly laps up and reflects back to its equally voracious television audience. Enter pompous French magistrate Maître Voland (Jean-François Balmer) - a dead ringer for the sewer creature’s gnarled and twisted demeanor - who arrives in Tokyo to represent Merde’s inevitable televised trial, claiming to be the sole person in the world able to speak his client’s unintelligible language. The media circus mounts as lawyer defends client in a surreal court of law hungry for a satisfying resolution. Merde is tried, convicted and sentenced to death - until justice takes an unexpected turn.

“Shaking Tokyo” (Dir. Bong Joon-ho)

Teruyuki Kagawa stars as a Tokyo shut-in, or hikikimori, who has not left his apartment in a decade. His only link to the outside world is through his telephone, which he uses to command every necessity from a series of random and anonymous delivery people, including the pizza that he lives on and the hundreds of discarded pizza cartons he meticulously stacks in and around his cramped apartment. But one day is different - his pizza arrives thanks to a lovely young woman who succeeds in catching the shut-in’s eye. Suddenly an earthquake strikes Tokyo, prompting the beautiful young delivery woman to faint in her client’s apartment. And then the unthinkable happens - the hikikimori falls hopelessly in love. Time passes and the shut-in discovers through another pizza delivery person that the improbable object of his affections has become a hikikimori in her own right. Taking a bold leap into the unknown, our hero crosses the threshold of his apartment and takes to the streets in search of his mystery girl, at last discovering his kindred spirit at the very moment another earthquake strikes.

The popular Antonio Banderas-voiced character, debuted in “Shrek 2″ - the 10th-highest-grossing movie of all time - was so well recieved by audiences so Puss will get his own stand-alone film.

The Shrek franchise is a multibillion-dollar property that has made over “$2 billion worldwide in theaters, tens of millions of DVDs sold and merchandising in every toy store.

Chris Miller, who added voices and dialogue to previous “Shrek” installments and co-directed and co-wrote the third movie, wrote an earlier draft of the “Puss” screenplay.

Studio bosses announced that two more sequels would be made with the final fourth movie. So, “regular,” the fourth, installment in the massive franchise, “Shrek Goes Fourth,” is set to debut in theaters May 21, 2010.

Crazier-than-hell time-bending delight from Richard Kelly: Donnie Darko's hero has a sister, and she too is plagued by visions and space catastrophes like her spooky big brother.

The direct-to-DVD sequel, now called S. Darko will be coming out on April 28th from MGM's home entertainment.

The summary, according to the IMDB page is as follows:

S. Darko takes place in the summer of 1995, seven years after the original film. It follows Donnie Darko's younger sister, Samantha (Daveigh Chase), who, in the wake of his death, has found herself at age 17 with a broken family, mired in feelings of insignificance. She and her best friend Corey (Evigan) set off on a road trip to Hollywood in a bid to 'make it big', but their journey is cut short when their car breaks down unexpectedly, leaving them stranded in a small desert town. When a meteorite happens to crash-land nearby, Samantha is plagued by bizarre visions telling of the universe's end and it appears that their breakdown was part of some grander plan. When she finds out she was actually adopted by the Darkos, and that she is in no way related to Donnie, she must face her own demons and, in doing so, save the world and herself.

Fans of Isaac Asimov still haunted by the film adaptation of “I, Robot” will get their chance to wipe it from their memory banks: a movie version of Asimov’s “Foundation” novels is in the works, Variety reported. On Thursday, Columbia Pictures won a three-way auction for film rights to Asimov’s science-fiction epic, whose first volume concerns a mathematician put on trial after predicting the collapse of his civilization. Columbia, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, beat Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox for the rights. The studio plans to develop the film for Roland Emmerich, the director of the cataclysmic sci-fi movies “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” Financial terms were not disclosed, and a release date for the film was not announced.

Oh, it’s going to be a good year for fans of serious science fiction with adaptations of not one but two works by iconic author Stanislaw Lem - the man who penned Solaris. First out of the gate will be Pater Sparrow’s Hungarian adaptation of Lem’s 1. We first caught wind of this back in October and have been keeping an eye on the official website ever since. And today we were rewarded when the site finally fully launched - including English an English subtitled teaser and trailer for the film.

A bookshop renowned for its rare works is mysteriously and completely filled with copies of a book entitled 1, which doesn’t appear to have a publisher or author. The strange almanac describes what happens to the whole of humanity in the space of a minute. A police investigation begins and the bookshop staff are placed in solitary confinement by the Bureau for Paranormal Research (RDI Reality Defense Institute). As the investigation progresses, the situation becomes more complex and the book increasingly well known, raising numerous controversies (political, scientific, religious and artistic). Plagued by doubts, the protagonist has to face facts: reality only exists in the imagination of individuals.

I'm surprise we didn’t caught wind of this piece of news sooner when it was announced last year but no more. Not content to allow Hollywood have all the fun, China is shelling out a $100 million US budget to produce its own heavy CG effects spectacle in Empires of the Deep (previously entitled Mermaid Island), an underwater fantasy adventure that will feature a world of mermaids, giants, mage and more different sea creatures. Its a US/China joint project so the production will employ talents from both Hollywood and China. While I’m not entirely sold on Pitof of Catwoman fame (or should I say lame) as the director but his extensive background in visual effects does have its merit and the possible casting of the goddess that is Monica Bellucci as the mermaid queen is enough for me to dive in.

The ambitious film is due out in 2010. Explore the official site to find some character designs/concept art and CG rendering of the sea creatures at the Behind the Scenes section.

She struggled ever closer, her breath sleeting out in crackling plumes that sank down in sparkling ice crystals. It reminded her of her youth, the nights out on the tundra, when the first snows came, when clouds shivered and shed their diamond skins and the world grew so still, so breathless and perfect, that she felt that time itself was but moments from freezing solid – to hold her for ever in that place, hold her youth, hold tight her dreams and ambitions, her memories of the faces she loved – her mother, her father, her kin, her lovers. No one would grow old, no one would die and fall away from the path, and the path itself, why, it would never end.

She struggled ever closer, her breath sleeting out in crackling plumes that sank down in sparkling ice crystals. It reminded her of her youth, the nights out on the tundra, when the first snows came, when clouds shivered and shed their diamond skins and the world grew so still, so breathless and perfect, that she felt that time itself was but moments from freezing solid – to hold her for ever in that place, hold her youth, hold tight her dreams and ambitions, her memories of the faces she loved – her mother, her father, her kin, her lovers. No one would grow old, no one would die and fall away from the path, and the path itself, why, it would never end.

Though the plan is clearly to wear us out on superhero movies, one guy they've got to get to before the genre finally eats itself in about four years is Green Lantern. Warner Bros. is hot to get the project off the ground, and Variety says the studio is now negotiating with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell to take over the project.

It's a great transition for Campbell, who seems to be on a hot streak with the successful rebirth of the Bourne franchise and his Edge of Darkness due later this year with Mel Gibson. Green Lantern will join the stable of DC Comics heroes like Batman, Superman, and...uh...that's it right now.

But because Warner and DC want to run everything through the Filter of Nolan, Lantern will be the first new comic book property to embrace the new, darker approach the studio wants to project.

What's so special about Green Lantern? Just about everything. If they go with the first Lantern (there have been several), then Alan Scott kind of stumbled into his heroism. He became the owner of a green lantern without knowing its powers. Then there was a massive railroad bridge collapse (cool visual effect there), of which Scott was the only surivor. He was told by the flame within the lantern that he had a higher calling, so he became a hero and made a ring out of the metal of the lantern, which gave him all his powers.

Of course, they could go the Hal Jordan route, and he's probably the most popular guy to wear the uniform. Different back story, though, involving a dying alien bestowing the ring onto Jordan, who was already a somewhat heroic test pilot.

I don't know which route Greg Berlanti took with his script, but you can expect this to be an origin story, and either way they go, it won't be entirely like any of the other ones we've seen recently. And maybe it'll have some 007-style hand-to-hand combat and grit. That would be a welcome change of pace for these giant effects movies.

While the sequel to The Dark Knight is just in the beginning stages of development, Warner Bros is already looking much further down the line. During today’s Time Warner earnings call, CEO Jeff Bewkes compared the Batman series to the Harry Potter film franchise, saying that they hope to release a long line of sequels.

“We look at Harry Potter. It’s fantastic to have franchises that last that long. We want to do that with Batman and Superman and perhaps Sherlock Holmes. The sequels are as good, with new characters added, as were the originals. That wasn’t the case in the years ago. Warners has more tentpoles as an on-going strategy taht very much lifts its distribution and performance. We think that’s going to hold up our slate in the 2009 - 2010 period. We’ve got four more big tentpoles coming this year.”

I kinda get the impression that if Christopher Nolan does a third Batman film, it will probably be his last. He seems like a filmmaker that wants to move on to his own passion projects, and while Warner Bros has been very patient with him in regards to a Dark Knight sequel, the studio/company is clearly looking much further down the line. Warner Bros wants to make a lot more Batman movies? I know, this is a pretty obvious story, but it’s the first time that Time Warner/Warner Bros has said publicly that they are looking beyond the next film.

I know Zack Snyder has expressed interest in filming an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, and even got Frank Miller’s blessing at Comic Con last year. If Nolan isn’t interested in making a fourth Batman film, I would love to see Warner Bros take the leap and do the alternative future story with Snyder in the director’s seat. That way you could give the A-team (cast and crew) behind the Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Batman 3 a break and still make another Batman flick. Sounds like a much better idea than possibility tanting the franchise with a Justice League movie featuring a recast younger Bruce Wayne.

Editor’s note: Last year, when longtime HELLRAISER series makeup FX artist Gary J. Tunnicliffe learned that a remake of the 1987 Clive Barker classic was in the works (with INSIDE’s Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury at the helm, since replaced by MARTYRS’ Pascal Laugier), he grew pretty excited. However, some of this excitement turned to fear when he was told that the producers’ plans were for a very “different” take on the mythology and a very “different” Pinhead.

When the phone at his shop failed to ring with an offer to work on the new movie, Tunnicliffe took it upon himself to redesign the iconic fright figure on spec. Here, he exclusively shares with Fangoria.com his test footage (at the bottom of this page), photos and words from what he christened “Project Angel: Recreating an Icon.”

When I heard about the proposed HELLRAISER remake, I was both excited and fearful. I love the first film. First and foremost, I love the story; the twisted love triangle is a brilliant piece of twisted taboo, and the Cenobites are the ultimate “frosting on the cake.”

Perhaps that’s why the sequels have been less than successful, as their makers have concentrated more on the “horror” and less on the story. The original HELLRAISER, in many ways, is for me essentially a “mob story.” Guy goes to the mob (Cenobites) and gets his fix…escapes the mob by going to a girl who he doesn’t really care about but who is obsessed with him and will do anything to protect him (including killing her own husband). Husband’s daughter finds out, rats him out to the mob, and they come after him. Pinhead is basically the Godfather, hell’s Tony Soprano.

I was fearful that the powers that be might not get this, and that they might just want a “Cenobite-fest.” I hoped they would see the perfection of the story and the powerful characters, and simply decide to up the production value. Better ingredients, but the same perfect recipe. After all, it is the reason we’re here, right—the first film worked?

I then started getting worried when I heard of varying story ideas and grandiose pitches from an assortment of writers and potential directors. What worried me the most was when I heard that a new Pinhead would be required—a reimagining, something more “now,” more “hardcore.”

I have always had strong beliefs that the design for Pinhead (courtesy of creator Clive Barker and also Geoff Portass, the first Pinhead makeup artist) is a brilliantly conceived and executed piece of character prosthetic work, brought to life like no one else could by actor Doug Bradley. I hung my head and sighed, “They just don’t get it, do they?” I looked up at the full-size figure of Doug in the makeup in my studio and said to my guys, “Look, it’s perfect, how and why would you want to ‘reimagine’ that?”

I headed to my office annoyed, angry and pissed off. A couple of days later, one of my crew from Two Hours in the Dark approached me and asked me, “If you had to redesign a new, more hardcore Pinhead—what would you do?”

“But, I wouldn’t; it’s perfect…”

He interrupted. “But if you had to, gun-at-your-wife’s-head type of thing…what would you do?”

I thought about it, and then the reality of the situation hit me. If I didn’t redesign it, someone out there probably would. And even though I have been involved with HELLRAISER since 1993, it’s no guarantee I would be invited back for the possible remake. Here was talk of French directors and, hey, that probably means French makeup FX designers, right?

I figured, I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t, I may as well at least try to create something, throw my version out there to see if it sticks. At the very least, it might end up on YouTube and people would know that I tried. Maybe tried and failed, but at least tried. So we embarked on “Project Angel: Recreating an Icon.”

My design idea was to create something that still felt like Pinhead but that stepped away from the “order” of the original design, something that was more painful, more chaotic. Several times over the years, Clive has approached me on various HELLRAISER sets and commented that the makeup looked very “clean” and that it had lost some of “the decay, the filth.” I decided to amp up the dirtiness of Pinhead’s visage, make it more self-inflicted, bloodier and more brutal.

I still wanted to use pins, and so I set about creating new versions: square-shafted pins/nails with square heads, very rusted and almost handmade, like miniature railroad spikes. Then I roughed out the sculpt on a bust of Mike Regan (one of my crew), basically a layer of clay all over with a crisscross of intersecting gashes that were deep. Very deep.

While Mike set about detailing, molding and running the pieces, I tackled the costume. I wanted something far far away from the sadomasochistic leather garb we had seen before, and so I went for white priest robes. I was inspired by the origin of the word Cenobite—“of a monastic order”—and actually managed to get a real “used” priest’s robe off eBay (oh, if only they knew!). I also decided to bind various fingers in white gauze; while I was doing this, on the day of application, someone asked me why I chose this, and I still to this day have no idea. I just liked the way it looked.

Finally, eyes. I wanted something different from the soulless black orbs we had established with Doug, and I always liked the animalistic, almost glowing eyes of the Reapers in BLADE II, and so I went with a variation on that (although we shot other lens tests as well).

I applied the makeup, dressed it with liberal amounts of blood, photographed it and filmed it…and then waited for the responses.

The reaction has always been strong, and surprisingly always (so far) favorable. People quickly “get it,” understand what it is and then usually react by saying something like this: “Pinhead is an incredible design, so cool, so interesting, a perfect character…this guy [they say pointing at a picture of the new design] looks like he would F**k. You. Up!”

I got various calls from “the people” it was sent to. They followed with thanks, praise and assurances that I would be involved in the remake. But this was way back last year, and I have no idea what state of play the new movie is in. I’ve heard the rumors and read the blogs just like everyone else. I listen and read the reports as a possible remake crewmember, but mainly as a fan, curious to see what happens to my beloved HELLRAISER.

Will I be involved in the HELLRAISER redux? Truthfully, I have no idea. Maybe I will be deemed “too close to the material,” maybe they will want a “fresh take,” but maybe they will realize that as well as a makeup FX designer, I am a fan, and more than that a champion of the HELLRAISER mythos. I have done the FX on these films when the budgets have been almost nonexistent, taken the work with no profit and always tried to keep the standard and quality high. I was involved with the NECA toys, supplying them with pictures and the biographies for the packaging. I even wrote and directed the short film “No More Souls,” which Dimension put on the DVD release of HELLRAISER: DEADER (for which I received nothing). I think I have earned the right to at least be considered.

But, as you have to be in Hollywood, I am realistic, and I know that at the end of the day, all of the above means nothing to 99 percent of the people who write the checks. To them I am just a makeup guy, a blood slinger, and being a fan just means that you might do it for less money. Don’t think for one second that this was done out of ego or arrogance. I personally believe the original Pinhead to be a flawless, perfect piece of character design, and I feel privileged to be a part of its legacy.

So, if this design is my swan song, so be it. At least it’ll get seen by the people who matter. Some will hate it, some might like it, at the very least I hope it stimulates discussion and raises awareness of the plight of the fan who became the makeup FX designer on the sequels to the film that inspired him.

Orlando Bloom, Vincent Cassel ("Eastern Promises") and Olga Kurylenko ("Quantum of Solace") will topline "The Cross," to be directed by Andrew Niccol ("Lord of War" ).

Niccol has initiated pre-production on the $24 million sci-fi escape story, which is scheduled to start principal photography in July in Australia.

CAA packaged "Cross" and is selling North American distribution rights. Gregoire Melin's Kinology is handling international rights.

Set in a border town, "Cross" returns Niccol -- Oscar-nommed for writing "The Truman Show" -- to his favorite domain: the near future. Bloom plays a man seeking to cross a mysterious border, something no one else has achieved; Cassel limns the guard who will go to any lengths to foil him. Kurylenko takes the femme lede. Structured as an Australia-France-Germany co-production, "Cross" is being produced by Bluewater Pics in Sydney, Paris' Spangherabero Films and Berlin's Opal Film Produktion. Wieland Schulz-Keil, Jonathan Shteinman, Jean-Vincent Puzos, Remi Burah and Niccol will produce; Alexander von Hohenthal is serving as German co-producer. "Cross" is a high-profile project on Kinology's Berlin slate, which also features gangster thriller "Vengeance" from Johnnie To. Film is written by Wai Ka-fai and features To stalwarts such as Anthony Wong, Lam Ka Tung, Lam Suet and Simon Yam. Gallic rocker Johnny Hallyday stars as a hitman-turned chef moved to action when his daughter (Sylvie Testud) and family are murdered. Currently in post and skedded for delivery in May, "Vengeance" is produced by Michele and Laurent Petin at Paris' ARP, To and Ka-fai.

At Berlin, Kinology will also be showing footage from "My Own Love Song," now in post, from Olivier Dahan and toplining Renee Zellweger, Forest Whitaker and Nick Nolte.

It looks like Marvel Editor-in-chief Joe Quesada and Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis had a discussion on Twitter this week about a meeting that took place with ‘THOR’ director Kenneth Branagh. Maybe it’s just me but I think the ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America’ films are going to be HUGE! They may end up being bigger and better than ‘Iron Man’, in fact I’m counting on it. In this Twitter conversation that took place Quesada tells us:

“Okay, three words describe my day today ‘Branagh gets it!’”

“We can’t go into detail but maybe we can say that we met with Branagh about ‘Thor.”

The details are the best part! They always leave out the details!

“Sweet is when [Branagh] starts quoting continuity and past storylines, The man has immersed himself in Marvel.”

As you may or may not know we reported earlier that the majority of the ‘Thor movie will take place in Asgard but to make The Avengers movie possible they will need to find a smooth transition for Thor to enter Midgaurd or the world established in the first ‘Iron Man’ movie. This may be the reason why writer Brain Michael Bendis was brought into the project. He is responsible for several overarching storylines in Marvel books over the last decade, including events such as ‘Secret Invasion’ and ‘House of M’. He would make a great story consultant to have on board to help make that transition of Thor into Midgaurd fan friendly and exciting.

Looks like we’ve got another comic book that is going to get made into a major motion picture! It is called ‘Freemind‘ It also has a director attached to it. Award winning director David Nutter has already signed on to direct the film. Nutter is a TV director making his leap into his first big-budget motion picture. He is best know as a director and producer on the ‘X-Files’ series he has also gone on to direct TV shows such as ‘Smallville’, ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’, ‘Supernatural’, and also won multiple Emmy Awards for his work on ‘The Sopranos’, and ‘Band of Brothers’. The guy has worked on some of televisions best shows and from what I have seen of his stuff, I think he’s got it in him to develop ‘Freemind’ into a really good movie.

‘Freemind’ producer Michael Uslan talks to MTV about the director and the project. Here is what he has to say:

“[Nutter] is a very character-driven director, This was a very non-comics comic book, based purely around a character - so he’s the perfect person for it.”

‘Freemind’ was created by Bob Layton, David Michelinie, and Dick Giordano who also wrote the ‘Iron Man Demon in a Bottle’ storyline. The series chronicles the adventures of a wheelchair-bound genius who creates an android body in order to live normally, only to discover that he has superhuman powers when occupying the alternate body. Uslan goes on to explain:

“You know how humans use only 5 percent of their brain? He ends up transferring 100 percent of his mind, so when he goes into this new body, suddenly he has powers that he never thought he would - mental telepathy, psychokinetic powers, etc, The only problem is, he doesn’t want these powers. He just wants to be a typical human being. He doesn’t want to have all these powers and be responsible like Peter Parker”

Apparently this movie has been trying to get off the ground since 2003 back then before Iron Man and The Dark Knight co-founder of Metrostop Entertainment Robert Keyghobad who wanted to make the movie said ‘Freemind’ is “an original work that speaks to you.” and that it would be “leading the charge in Hollywood”, and is “more than your traditional story of good vs. evil… filled with magic, a unique setting and incredibly complex and dark characters, incredibly cerebral and character driven comic that reflects the expansion of the human spirit.” It looks like after all this time it is finally going to see the light of day.

I have a friend who works at HBO. While he said he has not heard anything concrete, he said he shared an elevator ride with Peter Dinklage last week. He followed up with a couple people and it seems that Mr. Dinklage will most likely be our Tyrion! Great casting, in my opinion.

Call me Sir Bounteous Follywit.

Is it just wishful thinking?

Info on Tyrion from Wikipedia:

Tyrion, (a POV character from the start of the series) is Tywin's third child, a misshapen dwarf nicknamed "The Imp" and "The Halfman". As a fan-favorite character, he is the personal favorite of the series' author George R. R. Martin as well.[1] Though Tyrion shares his father's talent for political maneuvering, he receives little respect from Tywin because of his deformity, sharp tongue, penchant for whoring, and the death of his mother during his birth. He is capable of cruelty to his enemies, but also has great sympathy for fellow outcasts and the mistreated.

HBO is turning George R.R. Martin’s series of “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novels into a TV series. The plan is to adapt one novel each season, starting with 1996’s “A Game of Thrones.”

Writing the HBO version are feature writers David Benioff (“The 25th Hour,” “Troy”) and D.B. Weiss (who authored a screenplay for the proposed “Halo” movie).

These are apparently very long, grown-up fantasy novels, with thousands of characters – the major ones quite flawed and complex - and lots of sex, violence and political intrigue.

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a little tidbit about an upcoming zombie movie. We like zombies right? I know the comic book industry REALLY seems to love zombies (it's all Robert Kirkman's fault), but I can't say I've read RED 5's ZMD: ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

But I know it exists because Benderspink just hired Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain to write the adaption (So Says Hollywood Reporter). The two recently wrote the third UNDERWORLD picture and also created and executed OUTLANDER, which for some reason I couldn't see at my local cinema. Thanks Bob and Harvey.

Sounds like a fine premise... US drops zombies engineered to dissolve at daybreak into war zones, letting them eat at will... and things go wrong. Could make for a good flick if the movie's done right. What do you folks think?

Reliance inked a development deal with Ratner’s shingle Rat Entertainment, as well as Julia Roberts’ Red Om Films, during the Berlin film fest.

The company paid mid six figures for the rights to “Youngblood,” about a superhero team sanctioned and overseen by the U.S. government.

Project is the first to emanate from the Indian media conglom’s nine development pacts with Hollywood talent.

“Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and ‘Youngblood’ is one of the few comicbooks left with tentpole potential,” Ratner told Daily Variety. “It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted (‘Youngblood’), but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they’re able to move.”

Reliance has also acquired the rights to French graphic novel “Fly Wires” for Ratner’s shingle.

Project, which will be renamed “Infinity,” will be produced by Ratner, who has already tapped Sylvain White (“Stomp the Yard”) to direct and John Collee (“Master and Commander”) to pen the script.

Both projects are being fast-tracked, although no decision has been made on whether they will eventually land at Paramount.

Ratner inked an overall deal with Par last July after a longstanding setup at New Line. His Reliance deal does not impact its terms but rather lends him financial clout to acquire and develop projects he can then offer to the studio.

I don't think anyone's reported this yet on the site but earlier today I caught the first 18 minutes of Watchmen along with another 20-30 sec. clip from a later scene at the NYC Comic Con. First let me clarify that I'm currently reading the graphic novel for the first time and am towards the end. The last I left off in my reading Rorshach and Nite Owl are on their way to Antarctic. So I haven't had this story built up in my mind for many years like others and I have no opinion whatsoever about The Squid, though the panel again confirmed that The Squid is not in the movie or in deleted material but said they used another "MacGuffin."

Anyway, the footage I've seen is AWESOME. I'm sure the diehard fans will find some trivial details to complain about but I don't know what there is to complain about. The film starts with a yellow Warner Brothers logo that somehow (I forget) transitions into the yellow of Blake's smiley face pin. Blake’s watching television and Snyder takes us inside Blake’s TV as he watches a political news show. The panel is discussing some speech President Nixon gave and we see a quick clip Nixon speaking. The show’s panel discusses the doomsday clock and they disagree over whether Dr. Manhattan’s presence is helping matters or pushing us closer to nuclear annihilation.

As Blake starts flipping channels we see below the door the shadow of two feet. Suddenly the door is busted down with a figure in black on the other side as Blake says, “Just a matter of time, I suppose” as we see in the trailer. A several minute fight sequence follows where Blake does really well but where it’s clear that he’s met his match. After he gets his ass kicked, a drop of blood falls onto the smiley face pin as he’s resigned himself to his fate. His opponent picks him up and tosses him out the window. He falls in slow motion with the smiley face pin right behind him and then both hit the ground.

There’s another transition involving the smiley face pin that takes us into the main titles sequence. As the titles play to Dylan’s original version of “The Times They Are A-Changing,” we’re treated to a lengthy sequence chronically the back story to Watchman-verse. Moments that stand out are The Minutemen posing for the famous group photo, an alternative version of the classic V-Day photo moment in Time Square where it’s Silhouette kissing the girl instead of the sailor, Mothman being carried away by men in white coats, photographers shooting Dollar Bill’s dead body in the revolving door, young Rorshach watching as his mother shows out another customer, an altered archival shot of Kennedy shaking hands with Dr. Manhattan, Kennedy being shot in Dallas by The Comedian behind the grassy knoll, shots of the various superhero gatherings, and Nixon coming to power. The last shot of the titles sequence is the shot from the first trailer of protesters against the vigilantes and the explosion that consumes the screen.

The titles end and now the detectives investigate Blake’s apartment. They see he was in great shape and that the window was particularly strong suggesting he may have been thrown out. They then find a photo of him with the president. They wonder if he was a spook. The camera then zooms out through the window and across the city. We somehow get to Rorshach down below discovering the smiley face pin and we hear Rorshach’s journal as he uses a Batman-like grappling hook gadget to quickly shoot up to the broken window and enters as he says the line from the trailer that is almost identical to the line in the book about politicians and everyone will call on him to save them and he’ll whisper, no.

Rorshach investigates the place and quickly finds photos of The Comedian with Sally and other clues that lead him to Blake’s closet. He finds a hollow back and finds The Comedian’s old mementoes. Somewhere around this point the scene ends as do the first 18 minutes.

Then to get a great audience reaction, we got an extra 20-30 second clip from later in the film. It’s the prison cafeteria scene. Rorshach is attacked and he throws the boiling hot water at the guy’s face. And as several guys try to hold him down, Rorshach says the classic line. I forget the exact words but it’s the “It’s not me that’s stuck in here with you! It’s you who’s stuck in here with me!” And that ends the footage we were shown. The actor they got playing Rorshach looks just like he looks in the book. Perfect casting.

I have to say that I was blown away by the footage. So far from what I’ve seen they’ve captured every detail from the book and have only added a few things that you could almost swear was in the book like the Silhouette V-Day kiss in Time Square or The Comedian’s assassination of Kennedy, which as I’ve just read seems to be only jokingly referenced in the book. My one concern is the length, at least in terms of what general audiences will put up with. After 18 minutes, we were only 3 scenes into the story plus a title sequence. Though to be fair, since they encapsulated so many moments of the history in the title sequence and get it over with early, they probably save a lot of time once the story gets going.

Then there’s all the supplementary material. I know content was made specifically for the DVD that won’t be in the film, or at least the theatrical version of the film, but I imagine some of the comic book with the comic book stuff is going to make it into film. I’ll be very interested to see how that gets incorporated. So in conclusion, I am looking forward to the film even more now.

If you use this, call me Dr. Manhattan.

then there's this from AntoniusFunk...

Hey Harry!

I have been attending the NYC comic con for the last couple of days and this morning was treated to an excellent panel on Watchmen/Friday the 13th/Terminator Salvation. While all three movies had cool things to show (all of them unseen before) the watchmen part of the panel was far outshining everything else. They showed us a clip of the first 18 minutes of the movie plus an additional minute or so of footage from later in the film. I am not sure how spoilerific you all want this kind of thing to be, but I'll just say what I saw. The movie starts with a television personality interviewing two guests about the looming threat of Russian Nuclear Armament, and the doomsday clock being moved to 5 minutes to midnight. It is suggested that this is a reaction to the USA having Dr. Manhattan as their ultimate weapon. Anyhow, the show pans out into the living room of the Comedian who is (after a moment) no longer entertained by the political debate. He switches channels a few times glossing over media of the time, makes himself a drink and settles down only to *BAM* his door being kicked in. Thus the "only a matter of time" line. What you don't see in the previews is the fight scene that follows which is fairly impressive. I for one had been skeptical that this movie would over do it on the slow motion (as about 90% of the trailer was in slo mo!) but Zack Snyder really seemed to use it sparingly and to emphasize either emotion or intense action. Otherwise, the fight was LIGHTNING fast in terms of movement but not in duration. He really gets the snot kicked out of him before being thrown from the window...after which we get the opening credits. They roll over Bob Dylan's "the times they are a changin" and feature great scenes like portraiture of the old and new minutemen, the assasination of JFK (by the comedian), a glimpse of a young Rorschach. After this it goes right into Rorschach finding the Comedian's blood-stained happyface pin on a storm dran, investigating his apartment and discovering his identity as the Comedian. This whole scene was overlaid with Rorschach talking/reading a page from his diary. The movie cut there, went to black and then skipped to a scene much later with Rorschach in prison. Jackie Earl Haley looks kind of amazing in this scene. He's just this little guy who seems eternally wound up right from the get go. Some guys start harassing him and pass along a shiv to kill him with but are thwarted by Rorschach's sweet fighting moves. He knocks one guy around a bit with his cafeteria tray then grabs some fry oil and pours it across the attacker's face. Screaming ensues and Rorschach is rushed by some guards while screaming "None of you seem to understand! It's not me who's locked in here with you...it's you that's locked in here with me!" Also, no freakin slo-mo this scene.

That's it. Pretty cool first glimpse of the movie which made me really want to see it. This looks like a fairly faithful adaptation, with the exception of the "squid monster" at the end (which Dave Gibbons today said "It's not even a squid! Sorry to disappoint all you cepelopod lovers out there.") and even that seems to be minor when framed within the medium. What i mean is this, and sorry to quote Dave Gibbons again but... "In the book the monster was like one big special effect at the end. In a movie full of special effects it seemed like it would lose it's impact and just be another effect." Given that he seemed actually pleased with the movie in totality, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Even without that same ending, this movie is poised to be amazing.

UK's The Telegraph talked to actor Mark Strong about who may be taking over the role of Maid Marian in director Ridley Scott's Nottingham now that Sienna Miller is out.

"I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part," said Strong, who is expected to play Sir Guy of Gisbourne. "She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it," he is quoted as saying.

Russell Crowe toplines the film, written by Brian Helgeland and targeted for a 2010 release.

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Myles. But it is Caleb’s father, professor Ted Myles (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years.As Ted further unravels the document’s secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events-the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son.

METROPIA is taking place in a not-so-distant, terrifying Europe. The world is running out of oil and the net of undergrounds has been connected, creating a gigantic web underneath Europe. Roger from Farsta (a suburb of Stockholm) tries to stay away from the underground. He thinks it’s unpleasant and he sometimes hear strange voices in is head.

One day Roger finds out that his life is controlled in every detail. He tries to break free. To succeed he needs super-model Nina to help him. Or is it maybe Nina that needs Roger?

Tarik Saleh’s Kafka-esque animated feature Metropia - featuring the voices of Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis - is one that we’ve been following in these pages for quite some time now, drawn in initially by the premise before being fully intrigued by the unique animation style. And now our watching and waiting has been rewarded: the first proper teaser has just arrived, it’s looking absolutely stellar, and we’ve got it below the break.

As you all know Warner bros wants to reboot the Superman franchise because they didn’t like what Bryan Singer did for it in the last movie, and neither did I, it was lacking. I have been trying to keep in the loop with what has been going on with this new Superman reinvention thing and so far my favorite Superman storyline that has come up is the one Mark Millar pitched to the WB which you can read up on right here. But there is a new rumor that hit the net today and it comes from one of the readers over at AICN, who they say is a reliable source for this kind of information.

Word on the street is The Wachowski Bros. are up to develop the new Superman film for Warner Bros. and that their Plastic Man movie has been put on the back burner. The source say’s Director James McTeigue who recently wrapped ‘Ninja Assassin’ which is being produced by the Wachowskis, spilled the following information.

* McTeigue confirmed that Plastic Man was the next project in the pipeline for the Wachowskis and he had been signed on to provide Second Unit support. Says the movie has been delayed indefinitely due to a major shake up of projects at WB.* Bryan Singer has refused to undertake a re-boot of the Superman franchise and has left the Executives at WB with no choice but to take a fresh creative direction.* He stated the Wachowski Brothers had been approached to re-boot the franchise as a trilogy and they are currently reviewing their options as its like being asked to take the final play in a superbowl final. Says if they do agree, he will likely either succumb to providing second unit support on the movie or will champion the directorship of Plastic Man - He started to giggle as he stated its like a young child for the Brothers and they wont give that up easily.* Says, the very thought of the brothers making a superman movie is unbelievable as they have grown up in the world of comic books and they would be ideal for the project.* Stated that Bryan Singer is looking to move on to Logan’s Run a movie to be produced by Joel Silver.

Wow. I gotta say it would be pretty exciting if all this stuff actually goes down. I think the Wachowskis would make an incredible Superman film. I know for a fact it would be a Superman film unlike any Superman film we have seen before. These guys have such a visually stimulating imagination and they can tell a decent enough story. They did an incredible job with Speed Racer! If Warner Bros are going with a trilogy, I wonder if they already have the story line that they want to use, and is that storyline the one created by Mark Millar? Should be interesting to see if these rumors become a reality.

Look at everything the Wachowski Bros have done so far, now imagine what they can bring to Superman. Awesome.

I love that John Malkovich has been cast in Warners Bros adaptation of the DC comic book ‘Jonah Hex’. When you can get this guy on board you know you have a decent project shaping up. The guy is just an incredible actor and it should be really fun to see him play the character they have cast him to play. Malkovich will play a wealthy Southern plantation owner by the name of Quentin Turnbull, who’s son is killed by Union soldiers during the Cilvil War. The character blames Jonah Hex for his sons death and obviously wants hex dead. Hex who will be played by Josh Brolin is a soldier turned hardened bounty hunter and gunslinger.

The film is being directed by Jimmy Hayward who helmed ‘Horton Hears a Who’ and the script was written by Mark Neveldine and Brain Taylor who wrote and directed ‘Crank’ and ‘Crank 2′. They were once attached to direct Jonah Hex but things didn’t work out due to creative differences which is kind of weird because they did write the script.

I am a huge fan of westerns and I am really looking forward to see how Jonah Hex shapes up. They seem to be on top of things so far.

Jonah Hex sagt mir persönlich nichts.

Christopher Nolan has his next film lined up and it’s not Batman 3LINK

Zitat

I wonder if this news is going to piss off Batman fans. If you are a little upset that Christopher Nolan’s next film will not be Batman 3 don’t hate on him too much, let the guy do a fresh new movie before he takes on the next Batman film. His next movie is still going to be freakin cool. The movie is called ‘Inception‘ which is a science fiction action film that is set to be released Summer of 2010. Just so you know Warner Bros. is helping him develop the project because they obviously know the guy can make a fantastic film and they want him to direct Batman 3 after he is done with it. Variety reports:

“Chris Nolan is a visionary filmmaker who continually raises the bar with each movie he makes,” Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov said. “We are thrilled to be collaborating again with him and Emma on this exciting new motion picture.”“Inception” is described as “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.”

I wish we had a little bit more information on the movie but it is bound to hit the net sooner or later. If you are wondering how long it will take Batman 3 to get made it will probably be about 3 years. We all need to be pretty damn patient. It’s the same amount of time that passed between Nolan’s original Batman and the sequel, so it should not be a problem to wait another 3 years.

Look on the bright side, he is still going to make a sci-fi film that is bound to be mind blowing.

I love when the Illuminati come out for revenge! This is a great little action packed and exciting trailer Sony has spliced together for ‘Angels & Demons‘ It looks so much better than ‘The Da Vinci Code’ which is a film I was very disappointed with. I think the story for this next film is also so much more interesting. I’m looking forward to it.

Based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard again directs the film, which is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and John Calley. The screenplay is by David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman.

When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival

We have the first film clip from Alex Proyas next film starring Nicholas Cage ‘Knowing‘. The clip is titled ‘Subway’ for the fact that Nicholas Cage runs down into the subway and onto a train to warn people that something bad is about to happen. Of course no one listens and chaos ensues.

I am really looking forward to this movie, I am a big fan of Alex Proyas’ work, he knows how to tell a good story. As for Nic Cage being in the movie, the guy has obviously had his hits and misses. There is a good actor in him, it just takes the right story and director to bring it out. He still has yet to top his performance in ‘Raising Arizona’. Check out the ‘Knowing’ film clip below and let us know what you think.

The remake will serve as an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus. The characters come from the Jules Verne novel and the 1954 action pic, that was the first live action film made by Walt Disney. The studio is fast-tracking the project that McG will direct.

Project is the latest pop culture notch in Marks' belt after penning scripts for Masters of the Universe, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and a Green Arrow actioner. The first draft was penned by Bill Marsilli.

Disney hopes to make the film this year and is McG's follow up to Terminator: Salvation.